Best Super Automatic Espresso Machine for Coffee Shop – Top 5 Options

Finding the best super automatic espresso machine for coffee shop usage is no easy task. That's why we've put together this guide to help you get to know your options and pick the machine your cafe will get the most out of.

Here's everything we'll be diving into:

Our recommendations for the best super automatic machines for small to large cafes.

Reasons to buy a super automatic machine for your coffee shop.

How to choose the machine features that benefit you business the most.

Best Super Automatic Espresso Machines for Coffee Shops

Franke A400 FM CM

This one-step machine can make espresso drinks and drip coffee. You can stock it with powdered chocolate or milk, and the FoamMaster tech creates customizable milk texture options. It will even top cold drinks with milk foam.

With all its adaptable features and two hoppers and grinders, it supports numerous coffee and espresso drink types and easy modifications per customer requests. Then when the day is done, the automatic CleanMaster program will let your baristas attend to other closing tasks.

The A400 FM CM is recommended for about 100 drinks per day, perfect for a little coffee nook.

Coffee Shop Size: Small shop

1 Step or 2 Step: 1 step

Number of Hoppers and Grinders: 2

8 Inch Touchscreen: The programmable touchscreen comes with pictures to guide baristas. Design a menu with custom images and messages to inform your staff about the day's coffee selection and sales strategies.

Pre-Infusion: This phase of extraction guarantees a beautifully developed flavor in the coffee.

Adjustable Spout: Most coffee shops have different cup sizes. The beverage spout changes from 88 to 180mm in height to fit larger cups.

CleanMaster System: When the day is over, the CleanMaster automatic milk cleaning system will let your baristas prioritize other end-of-day duties.

Optional Brewed Coffee: Want your espresso machine to make drip coffee, too? This model will brew a cup at a time so that you don't have to make an entire pot, whether that's decaf, light roast, or another type of coffee.

Nuova Simonelli Prontobar

Available in one-step and two-step configurations, the Nuova Simonelli Prontobar adds features that you'd see in well-crafted espresso machines of the traditional type.

A thermo-compensated group and specially made steel burrs aid in temperature, quality, and consistency while a quiet pump won't disturb your customers working on their laptops.

Everything from an adjustable spout to an automatic cleaning function is found right here in this tidy system.

Coffee Shop Size: Medium shop

1 Step or 2 Step: Available in either configuration

Number of Hoppers and Grinders: 2

LCD Display with 6 Programmable Drink Buttons: The user-friendly LCD display allows baristas to program doses and brew, steam, and group temperatures. Program up to six drink buttons for speedy operation.

Special Steel Burrs: The premium steel burrs are guaranteed to stay sharp longer and absorb operational vibrations so that your grind settings stay on target.

Thermo-Compensated Group: Supplying excellent temperature control and consistency, the thermo-compensated delivery group ensures quality in every drink.

Adjustable Spout: To fit cups of different sizes, simply reposition the spout.

Franke S700 Semi Automatic

The Franke S700 Semi Automatic may be called a semi-automatic machine, but it's more like a two-step super automatic model.

It grinds and brews the coffee for your baristas, but it's built with an Auto-steam wand designed to produce fine microfoam so that baristas can get creative and pour latte art.

With iQFlow and a triple boiler unit, the machine is tailored to the needs of an upper-tier coffee shop in a way that's unlike anything you're probably used to in a super automatic machine.

Check it out for a medium to large cafe. It's recommended for about 250 drinks per day and keeps up with any rush.

Coffee Shop Size: Medium to large shop

1 Step or 2 Step: 2 step

Number of Hoppers and Grinders: 2

8 Inch Touchscreen: This touchscreen makes it easy to operate any machine function. It will guide baristas through drink making, machine cleaning, and more. It's like a built-in manual, only way easier.

iQFlow Technology: One of Franke's most admired innovations, iQFlow lets baristas choose individual taste profiles for any coffee and ensures great flavor and consistency.

Latte Art Autosteam Wand: The Auto-steam wand produces optimal microfoam for latte art, a tool the professional barista will love.

3 Boiler System: This boiler system generates enough steam power to make drink after drink while allowing baristas to access hot water for teas and Americanos at the same time.

Compact Design: At only 13.4 inches wide, the machine won't take up all your counter space.

Nuova Simonelli gives the Talento a diagnostic system that detects issues and alerts you, giving you the opportunity to fix problems fast and keep your machine in healthy shape for years to come.

Coffee Shop Size: Large shop

1 Step or 2 Step: Available in either configuration

Number of Hoppers and Grinders: 2

LCD Display with 10 Programmable Drink Buttons: Double your drink recipes and program up to 20. It's easy for baristas to program the coffee dose, milk dose, tamping pressure, and temperatures for brewing, steaming, and the group.

Double Tamping System: This Nuova Simonelli feature is meant to let baristas pull different results from the same coffee.

Thermo-Compensated Group: Get better quality out of your coffee with the temperature control and consistency this group design provides.

Adjustable Spout: Just raise and lower the spout for cups of various sizes—something many coffee shops need.

Self-Diagnostic Program: Maintenance is much easier with the machine letting you know if an issue comes up.

Franke A1000 FM CM

Boasting three hoppers and grinders and the high-performance iQFlow and FoamMaster systems, this is a lean, mean, high-quality latte-making machine. With flavored syrup and milk type options, you can create a version of the A1000 FM CM that perfectly suits your cafe.

You'll even have the opportunity to place personalized images and messages on the screen to communicate important information to your employees.

If you want everything an advanced machine can offer, this is it.

Coffee Shop Size: Medium to large shop

1 Step or 2 Step: 1 step

Number of Hoppers and Grinders: 3

10.4 Inch Touchscreen: A huge touchscreen with color pictures provides simple operation for the barista. Custom images and messages are easy to add to the menu.

Pre-Infusion: Pre-infusion allows every coffee to fully develop in flavor.

Adjustable Spout: For taller drinks, move the flexible spout into a more optimal position for the cup. Easy as that.

FoamMaster System: This talented tech replicates the results of manual milk steaming with adjustable thicknesses and temperatures. You can even add milk foam to iced drinks.

Optional Flavored Syrups: Equip the machine with six different flavored syrups with this option.

Second Fresh Milk Type Option: The A1000 FM CM can come with two built-in fresh milk types to vary the options for your customers.

Optional Brewed Coffee: Drip coffee is optional if you don't want to brew a whole pot of a certain type of coffee.

CleanMaster Program: You don't even need to add cleaner. CleanMaster has an integrated cleaning cartridge to work on its when when you select the function from the menu.

Does Your Cafe Need a Super Automatic Espresso Machine?

If you're wondering if it's time to invest in a super automatic machine for your cafe, you may be a little lost starting out.

That's understandable. There are a lot of machine features to sort through and elements of your business to consider. In short, it's not a quick decision.

But there are certain factors to think about that will help you arrive at your decision with confidence.

These are:

Your staff's skill level

The pace of business in your cafe

Diversity of services and products

Your Staff's Skill Level

A lot of cafes face high staff turnover rates. As soon as an employee is hired, another puts in two weeks' notice. Baristas come and go and your staff may change every few months.

If this is what you see in your cafe, you probably spend a lot of time training new baristas. And it gets costly if you think about the time diverted from other tasks and services.

The beauty of a super automatic model is that anyone is able use it with very little training. With the right machine, you can train someone with no barista experience up in one session.

Considering that it takes weeks of practice for brand new baristas to get to a point where they're making decent espresso drinks, a super automatic will free up a ton of time better dedicated to more productive assignments.

If you do have some seasoned baristas on your staff, you may still decide to opt for the super automatic model if not every employee is at that skill level.

Basically, a super automatic espresso machine for coffee shop employees of all skill levels assures consistency and quality that your customers will come to depend on.

The Pace of Business in Your Cafe

There may be times when your cafe gets busy and your staff needs to double down on efficient practices.

But if you find that the customer line is consistently trailing all the way to the door and your employees are struggling to serve customers faster, it may be time to consider a super automatic instead of a semiautomatic or standard automatic machine.

Here's the difference. Traditional semiautomatics and automatics require more attention from the barista.

The user grinds the coffee (in a separate grinder) to the precise settings required for the espresso, pulls an espresso shot, and steams milk for a milk-based drink before constructing the finished product.

With a super automatic machine, the user presses a button and waits for the machine to craft the entire drink by itself. In some cases, you might manually steam milk and add it to the espresso, which is preferable for cafes that pour latte art.

But the streamlining of the whole drink process is there, from coffee grinding to milk steaming.

It allows your employees to multitask and, say, ring a customer up while the machine makes the drink. In short, it may save your staff valuable time and help you serve more customers.

Diversity of Products and Services

It's pretty standard for coffee shops to offer some type of food in addition to coffee. That might be restricted to premade pastries, or it could include house-made sandwiches, soups, and wraps.

Maybe you roast your own beans and have coffee cuppings, onsite grinding, and other popular services your customers frequently utilize.

The more your staff is doing for customers, the more efficient they need to be. This is where the super automatic machine becomes a big help.

Take, for example, a shop where sandwiches are made to order. If you don't have a separate kitchen and staff for the food, your baristas are doing two major things: making coffee and food.

If they can just press a button for a latte and walk away while the machine makes the drink, they can start making the customer's sandwich at the same time.

Imagine how much faster food and drink production would be. Faster service may be the difference between your customers choosing your cafe or the Starbucks drive-thru.

Features to Consider in a Super Automatic Espresso Machine

Not sure what you're looking for in a super automatic espresso machine for coffee shop applications specifically?

Just follow our easy guide.

Here are the major features and functions you might need in your cafe:

Simple one-step or two-step system

Flexible drink menu

Multiple hoppers and grinders

1 Step or 2 Step System

Super automatic machines are generally divided into two categories: one-step and two-step machines.

Both types anticipate the needs of a fast-paced business with automated drink production, but they work differently.

A one-step machine creates the beverage when the barista picks it from the menu. That means that the machine is grinding the coffee, brewing the espresso, steaming milk, and adding the ingredients together in the cup all by itself.

Two-step machines separate brewing and steaming functions. While the machine will still grind and brew the espresso, the barista pours milk into a pitcher and uses a steam wand to texture the milk before adding it to the espresso (in a drink that requires milk, like a macchiato).

Some one-step machines do come with manual steam wands, giving your baristas the option of either system.

If you want to feature latte art in your shop, manual control of milk steaming and layering is the way to go.

Choose the one-step system if you're focusing on speed and quality, but not necessarily latte art.

Flexible Drink Menu

Before deciding on a super automatic model, check to see how many types of drinks it's capable of making.

Does it do the full range from mochas to Americanos? If you need it to brew single cups of coffee, is it able to do so?

Maybe you need a machine that dispenses more than one type of fresh milk to give your customers dairy and nondairy options without having to turn a one-step process into a two-step.

Whatever you need for your business, make sure that the machine you want to buy will support you and your staff with the proper flexibility.

Multiple Hoppers and Grinders

You may not necessarily need more than one hopper and grinder. If you have a separate machine for decaf, you can possibly get away with a super automatic that just does one type of coffee.

Many coffee shops will need a machine that grinds and brews different types of coffee. In this case, look for a model with two, may be even three hoppers and grinders.

Let's say you own a specialty coffee shop. If you have a super automatic machine with three hoppers and grinders, you can load it with a selection of single-origin and specialty blends.

Space for decaf coffee is definitely something to think about. The more the machine can do, the less outside equipment you'll need to invest in.

Wrap Up

If you need help picking the superautomatic espresso machine for you, be sure to contact us via our commercial contact form. We're always eager to help our customers.

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